There may be "no line on the horizon," but U2's latest studio album will surely and distinctly divide its champions from its naysayers.

With an abundance of classic-sounding U2 anthems and layered, clever production by some of the best dial-twirlers in the business (Brian Eno, Danny Lanois, Steve Lillywhite), diehards are liable to anoint this as the band's best album since "Joshua Tree" or "Achtung Baby" -- the kind of album that requires repeated listening in darkened rooms with a glass of wine or two.

Detractors will just as quickly brand Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. as the ultimate copycat kings, recasting previous U2 triumphs such as "Vertigo" into rocked-up retreads such as "Get On Your Boots," while tossing out stray political commentary like Halloween candy.

But really, the truth is somewhere in between.

U2 likely aimed to make a more dynamic impact sonically than say, 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," even though there was something quite likable and refreshing about the raw, crisp approach of that album and its melodic charms.

On "Horizon," the band isn't shy about heaping things on in a quest for atmospheric bliss. So, a promising song like "Unknown Caller" gets buried under its own bombast and silly lyrics. Other tracks teeter on the brink of sounding overwrought or overly maudlin.

Then again, there are moments of true rock beauty: on the title track, "Stand-Up Comedy," "Fez: Being Born." And the songs "Magnificent" and "Breathe" are the vital and compelling slices of art that U2 demands its music must be. Coldplay only wishes it could rise to this level. Problem is, U2 sometimes struggles to maintain that elevation itself, haunted perhaps by its own imposing legacy.